Many people ask if cancer can be prevented. Is there a way of beating cancer, that is making sure it will never even affect us? The case of Chinese people in Hong Kong in succumbing to cancer after the introduction of fast food is well documented in medical research. Their previous diet of soya and other vegetables would suggest that a healthy diet is key in preventing and beating cancer.

Preventing cancer is easier than you may think and is very important for your health, quality of life and longevity. Preventing cancer is a serious business for all of us. Preventing cancer is possible if you keep your body healthy and free of toxins. Stating that vitamin D has no useful role in preventing cancer is as hopelessly outdated as claiming the Earth is flat. A diet with the aim of preventing cancer is generally the same as a diet to prevent heart disease and other diseases

What Are the Ways Of Preventing Cancer?

Prevention is the only real solution. The only way out of this cancer madness is through prevention. The Canadian Cancer Society is launching a program to make sure every Canadian citizen receives a level of vitamin D sufficient to prevent most cancers, including breast cancer. New research shows vitamin D slashes risk of cancers by 77 percent; cancer industry refuses to support cancer prevention. The American Cancer Society, however, seems stuck in the nutritional dogma of the 1950's and continues to claim that only drugs, radiation and surgery can treat cancer, and that nutritional supplements have no role to play whatsoever in cancer prevention.

What Is The Best Way To Beat Cancer?

The best way of all is to ensure a healthy diet, eg. reduce sugar and salt intake and eat more fibre, fruit and vegetables. A great way to get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients we need is to eat healthily. That means a variety of foods. Ask yourself if you can reduce sugar, fat and salt intake while increasing fruit and vegetables. What about your intake of alcohol?

There other ways of preventing cancer. For more information on the best way to beat cancer, click on the link below to learn from an expert who has dedicated most of his life to preventing cancer.

You’ve seen them on the lapels of celebrities at awards shows. You’ve seen them as jewelry, as magnets, as pictures on grocery items. They’re those little ribbons that show the wearer is a supporter of the cause the ribbon represents.

It all started with the red ribbons in support of the fight against aids. Now we’ve got yellow ribbons and blue ribbons and purple ribbons. Today, we will talk about pink ribbons – those that show your support in the effort to find a cure for breast cancer.

The breast cancer ribbon is a favorite among women. This is because this disease has hit home to almost everyone. If you don’t have a family member affected by breast cancer, you have a friend or co-worker who has. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in America who doesn’t know someone who has had breast cancer. Unfortunately, it’s almost as hard to find someone in America who hasn’t known someone who DIED from breast cancer. Breast cancer occurs in more people than any other cancer except skin.

This is especially difficult, because we know that early detection might very well have saved our loved ones. This is what the pink ribbon is really all about. Yes, maybe we’ve lost someone. Maybe we just had a close call. Maybe we’re concerned for someone or ourselves right now. But the point is, wearing the ribbon might just remind another woman to get that mammogram she’s been putting off. If just one woman did a self examination because she saw a pink ribbon pin on a co-worker that day, it was the most successful clothing choice ever made!

Wearing a pink ribbon might just save a life.

The pink ribbon is an international symbol for breast cancer awareness. You can wear your pink ribbon in any country; it has universal meaning. No one or no company owns the rights to the pink ribbon. In fact, companies who use this symbol each add their own flair. Avon’s pink ribbon doesn’t look exactly like Estee Lauder’s. But they’re both recognizable as symbols of support for breast cancer issues, treatment and especially for finding a cure. And portions of the sale of each go to breast cancer research.

National breast cancer awareness month is October. “Pink Ribbon Day” is always on the fourth Monday. This is the culmination of the month and is the biggest day of activities, education and fundraising, all in support of breast cancer research. You can help by wearing your own pink ribbon. Let your community know you care. When people ask, tell them all about the great work that is being done to cure breast cancer, the second biggest killer of women. Make sure they know that they can do their part in this great cause just by buying a pink ribbon of their own.

So this October, buy a pink ribbon or make a pink ribbon. Wear it proudly as you contribute to this very worthy cause. Stamp out breast cancer in our lifetime and do it with a pretty pink ribbon!

Breast cancer can be frightening, but knowledge is power. If you've been vigilant in your personal breast exams and mammograms there may come a time when a lump or suspicious area is found. The first thing that will probably happen is you'll get another mammogram. This time it's called a diagnostic mammogram and it will concentrate on the suspicious area. You may also get an ultrasound, with is painless and can often tell the difference quickly between benign and malignant growths.

Depending on the results of the previous tests, the doctors are likely to recommend a biopsy next. A biopsy takes a small piece of the lump for examination under a microscope. It is the best way to make sure if breast cancer is present. The biopsy can take many forms from a surgical procedure to a fine needle, which isn’t much worse than getting a shot. It depends on the type and location of the mass. Your doctor will decide which type of biopsy is best in your case.

Once the biopsy sample is retrieved, a pathologist will study and characterize it. If it is found to be cancerous, it is further classified in various ways to identify its size and strength. The mass will be tested for the presence of special estrogen and progesterone receptors. If present, the cancer can be treated with hormone therapy. Another receptor called the HER-2/neu is also sought. Other therapies are directed and cancers containing this receptor.

At this point the patient is “staged”. The stages of breast cancer are complex, but here is a simplified description:

Stage 0 – Abnormal cells are found in the lining of a gland within the breast. This is indicative of a future cancer, but not representative of present cancer.

Stage I – The earliest stage where the tumor is less than 2 cm across and is contained within the breast.

Stage II – Early stage where the tumor is either: a. Less than 2 cm. across and in both the breast and the lymph nodes under the arm b. between 2 and 5 cm. and may be in breast or breast and lymph nodes under the arm c. More than 5 cm. and only in the breast

Stage III - Advanced breast cancer where: a. The tumor is less than five cm. across, in both breast and lymph nodes under the arm b. The cancer is extensive in the lymph nodes under the arm. c. The cancer is in the lymph nodes or other tissues located near the breastbone. During stage III your doctor will be checking to find signs of metastatic disease. When cancer has “metastasized,’ it has spread from the breast/lymph node areas into other distant organs of the body. These tests will take the form of chest x-rays and CT and bone scans.

Stage IV – Metastatic breast cancer, where the cancer has spread to other organs.

Almost all breast cancer victims will have some type of surgery to remove as much of the cancerous growth as possible. No matter how successful, most will probably undergo a regimen of chemotherapy as well. This kills off any microscopic scraps of the disease that may remain to grow into full-fledged cancer again. Other therapies such as radiotherapy (radiation therapy), hormonal therapy, or biologic therapy may be proscribed.

Once treated, breast cancer patients need to be monitored for recurrence. At first this means every 3-4 months. These become less and less frequent, but annual mammograms are even more important for former breast cancer patients than for the normal population.

Breast cancer strikes fear in the hearts of all women. Most of us have known someone–a friend, a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor–who has been treated for breast cancer or worse, has died from the disease. Historically, breast cancer was diagnosed after a woman sought medical attention for soreness or a palpable mass. Annual mammograms became the "gold standard" for breast cancer screening; the goal has become to find tumors before they can be felt.

However, mammography is a late test. It does not prevent cancer; it detects cancer. Women place unreasonably high hopes on the ability of the technology to reduce their risk of cancer. A recent study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, reported that women typically overestimate the risk reduction capability of a mammogram by more than 100-fold.(1)

Mammograms give a false sense of security about a clean bill of health. The sensitivity, or the number of women who have cancer and also have a positive mammogram, ranges from 54%–58% among women under age 40 to 81%–94% among women over 65. In women 40 to 65, the ability of a mammogram to identify a tumor depends on many variables: The size the lesion, hormone use, breast tissue density, the overall image quality and the interpretative skills of the radiologist.

Cancer is identified in only a small fraction of women (0.1%–0.5%, depending on age) who are screened. Studies have demonstrated that for each death prevented by screening, there are at least 200 false-positive results.(2) The number of follow-up procedures generated by cancer screening programs, such as repeat mammograms, ultrasounds and MRI, exponentially increases the cost of the disease. In the United States, biopsies that turn out to be benign cost the healthcare system more than $1 billion annually.(3)

Screening has another potentially harmful effect. Women are psychologically damaged by the stress of an abnormal mammogram that turns out to be a false alarm. A new survey developed by Brodersen and colleagues and released this month (7/07) measured six psychosocial dimensions: anxiety, behavioral impact, sense of dejection, impact on sleep, breast examination and sexuality. The survey showed that women who have an abnormal screening mammogram that is later confirmed to be a false-positive are negatively impacted in all six categories.

What else can be done?
Digital infrared imaging (digital IR), also called thermography, has been FDA-approved for breast health screenings since 1982. It is painless, non-invasive and uses no radiation. The scan detects and records thermal patterns on the skin not seen with any other tool.

Abnormal cells require large quantities of nutrients for rapid growth. Through a process called angiogenesis, new blood vessels are drawn in the direction of the atypical cell. Coupled with the release of cytokines and nitric oxide, additional blood flows into the area that increases heat in the tissues that can be detected by thermography.

Normal skin surface temperature is symmetrical and deviates less than 0.3C from side to side. New digital IR cameras can detect differences as small as 0.1C. Temperature variation of more than 1.0C suggests the presence of abnormal, possibly pre-cancerous, cells. These subtle changes can be detected seven to eight years before a mass becomes palpable or can be detected by mammography.

What is a thermogram procedure like?
After disrobing to the waist, approximately 15 minutes is needed to equilibrate to room temperature. An experienced technician performs three scans—front, left and right—with arms extended over the head. Both hands are then placed in cool water for exactly one minute. When the sympathetic nervous system is chilled, normal vessels constrict; abnormal vessels remain the same size or dilate. A second set of scans is taken for comparison. When the scans are completed, the exam is over.

Why isn’t everyone doing this test?
Why aren’t doctors routinely recommending this test? Why don’t they offer it in their office? An abnormal scan cannot be corrected with a drug. Conventional doctors are not trained to use vitamins, supplements and detoxification, essential tools for repairing damaged physiology. If a woman has a normal mammogram, the abnormal thermogram is dismissed by physicians as a false positive. This is a missed opportunity for true cancer prevention.

Despite the current status of breast thermography, it has been researched for over 30 years. More than 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography exist in the index-medicus. The data base represents more than 250,000 women and the number of participants in many studies ranged from 37,000 to 118,000. Some of women who had a positive thermogram were followed for up to 12 years; 35 percent of those who had a positive thermogram went on to develop breast cancer.

What you can do
If an abnormality is identified on your thermogram, pro-active steps can be taken to heal the breast tissue and progress can be monitored non-invasively through serial scans. If you don’t have access to a physician who has digital IR equipment, you can take important steps toward breast health:
• Diet: Eat organically grown foods. Pesticides collect in fatty tissue, and the breast can become a reservoir for estrogenic chemicals. Eliminate all caffeine, chocolate, MSG, aspartame, and herbs that have estrogenic properties, especially soy. Studies found that soy supplements can increase breast cancer risk, especially in post-menopausal women.
• Exercise: Walking and arm swinging will get the lymphatics moving. Decongesting breast tissue will reduces the risk of cancer.
• Eliminate hormones: Discuss options with your physician to eliminate birth control pills and synthetic hormone replacement. The link between hormones and breast cancer has been confirmed.(5)
• Supplements: Many supplements have been shown to have a positive effect on breast tissue. Here are a few examples:
1. DIM (diindolylmethane) the phytochemical found in cruciferous vegetables, has anticancer activity and also works to repair damaged DNA.
2. Tumeric (curcumin) kills cancer cells and has strong properties against angiogenesis
3. Drinking green tea or taking green tea extract capsules has been associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. All of these are available at your local health food store.

It's a fact that every day, cells in your body divide, grow and die. Most of the time they do it in an orderly manner. But sometimes they grow out of control. This type of cell growth forms a mass or lump called a tumor. Tumors can either benign or malignant.

Benign tumors are not cancerous. But left untreated, some can pose a health risk, so they are often removed. When these tumors are removed, they typically do not reappear. Most importantly, the cells of a benign tumor do not spread to other parts of the body or invade nearby tissue.

Malignant tumors are made of abnormal cells. Malignant tumor cells can invade nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body. A malignant tumor that develops in the breast is called breast cancer.

To continue growing, malignant breast tumors need to be fed. They get nourishment by developing new blood vessels in a process called angiogenesis. The new blood vessels supply the tumor with nutrients that promote growth. As the malignant breast tumor grows, it can expand into nearby tissue. This process is called invasion. Cells can also break away from the primary, or main, tumor and spread to other parts of the body. The cells spread by traveling through the blood stream and lymphatic system. This process is called metastasis.

When malignant breast cells appear in a new location, they begin to divide and grow out of control again as they create another tumor. Even though the new tumor is growing in another part of the body, it is still called breast cancer. The most common locations of breast cancer metastases are the lymph nodes, liver, brain, bones and lungs.

There are genes that control the way our cells divide and grow. When these genes don't work like they should, a genetic error, or mutation, has occurred. Mutations may be inherited or spontaneous. Inherited mutations are ones you were born with — an abnormal gene that one of your parents passed on to you at birth. Inherited mutations of specific genes, such as the BRCAI and BRCA2 genes, increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.

Spontaneous mutations can occur within your body during your lifetime. The actual cause or causes of mutations still remains unknown. Researchers have identified two types of genes that are important to cell growth. Errors in these genes turn normal cells into cancerous ones.

You need to be aware that cells may be growing out of control before any symptoms of the disease appear. That is why breast screening to find any early changes is so important. The sooner a problem is found, the better a your chance is for survival.

Experts recommend that women 40 years and older have a mammogram every year. If you have a history of breast cancer in your family, talk with your doctor about risk assessment, when to start getting mammograms and how often to have them. If your mother or sister had breast cancer before menopause, you may need to start getting mammograms and yearly clinical breast exams before age 40. It is important for all women to have clinical breast exams done by a health care provider at least every three years starting at age 20 and every year after age 40 and to do breast self-exams once every month starting by age 20.

PANDORA is pleased to announce its support of Susan G. Komen For The Cure. For 2007, a guaranteed minimum contribution of $25,000 and a portion of the sales from the pink ribbon charm will go to the organization.

For each pink ribbon charm sold, PANDORA will donate a percentage of the proceeds to Susan G. Komen For The Cure to help eradicate breast cancer through research, education, screening, and treatment.

The causes of breast cancer are not completely understood, although it is clear that a woman’s age, gender and lifetime exposure to estrogen and her age at the time of her first childbirth can play an important role. Because no one knows exactly what causes breast cancer, there is absolutely no way to prevent it. However, there are steps that every woman can take that may make developing breast cancer less likely.

Any woman can get breast cancer. For example, did you know:
 The older a woman is, the more likely she is to get breast cancer?
 White women are more likely to get breast cancer than women of any other racial or ethnic group? They also have a better chance of survival, primarily because their cancer is usually detected earlier.
 African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women.
 Men can get breast cancer too, although it is rare. Less than one of every 100 cases of breast cancer in the U.S. occurs in men.
 In 2006, it is estimated that men will account for 1,720 cases of breast cancer.1

All women are at risk for breast cancer. Known risk factors like having a family history of breast cancer, starting menopause after age 55 or never having children account for only a small number of new breast cancer cases every year.

That means that most women who get breast cancer have no known risk factors except being a woman and getting older.

Typical questions you might have about breast cancer include:
I have a family history of breast cancer. Does that mean I’ll develop breast cancer, too? Just because other family members have had breast cancer doesn’t mean that their disease was inherited. Only about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers occur because of inherited mutations.2

If I am diagnosed with breast cancer, what are my chances for survival?
The 5-year survival rate for all women diagnosed with breast cancer is 90 percent.2 This means that 90 out of every 100 women with breast cancer will survive without a recurrence for at least five years.

Most will live a full life and never have a recurrence. Your chances of surviving are better if the cancer is detected early, before it spreads to other parts of your body. In fact, when breast cancer is confined to the breast, the 5-year survival rate is 98 percent.2

The best way to find breast cancer, especially in its earliest stages, is to routinely check your breasts for signs and symptoms of the disease.

There are three basic methods:
Mammograms. These are X-ray pictures of the breast. They can find breast cancer in its earliest stages, even before a lump can be felt. All women 40 and older should have a mammogram every year. If you are younger than 40 with either a family history of breast cancer, or other concerns talk with your health care provider about when to start getting mammograms and how often to have them.

Clinical breast exam. This is performed by a health care provider who carefully checks your breasts and underarm areas for any lumps or changes that may be present. Many women have a clinical breast exam performed when they get their Pap test. Women should have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years between the ages of 20 and 39 and every year starting at 40.

Breast self-exam (BSE). This involves two main steps: looking at and feeling your breasts for any change from normal. If you notice any change in the normal look or feel of your breasts, see your health care provider. All women should perform monthly BSE by age 20. BSE should be done once a month, a few days after your period ends. If you no longer have periods, do BSE on the same day each month. At your next appointment, ask your health care provider to show you the steps for BSE.

Simply being a woman is the most important risk factor for breast cancer. But remember, there is no one cause of breast cancer. If you are concerned about your breast cancer risk, discuss your options with your doctor.

Known, probable breast cancer risk factors:
 Being a woman
 Getting older
 Having a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer genes
 Having a previous biopsy showing hyperplasia or carcinoma in situ
 Having a family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer
 Having high breast density on a mammogram
 Having a personal history of breast or ovarian cancer
 Starting menopause after age 55
 Never having children
 Having your first child after age 30
 Being overweight after menopause or gaining weight as an adult
 Having more than one drink of alcohol per day
 Currently or recently using combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
 Having your first period before age 12

The wife of a friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago. She underwent mastectomy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She was well after that. She was a pride of the medical establishment and was invited to the “Celebration of Life” party. But it was not to be. Soon after receiving the invitation she did not feel well. Her arm swelled and the doctor said this could be due to the effect of radiotherapy done NINE years ago. In November 2002, she was hospitalised and diagnosed as having metastasis of the brain. She underwent radiotherapy. After the tenth treatment she developed severe lung infection and her white blood counts dropped drastically. Further radiation treatments (twenty more sessions) were abandoned. She remained immobilised in the hospital for more than two months. After that, she developed bladder infections. She was discharged from the hospital at the end of January 2003. In mid-March 2003, she passed out stools with blood and her blood pressure dropped (internal bleeding?). On 17 March 2003, my friend called to say that his wife had died that afternoon.

My experience in cancer work has shown that death and suffering do not come suddenly following the appearance of a small lump in the brain. Then, what about the blood in the stools? Could this be another of the effects of radiation? I have once said: “In serious cancer cases, even doing nothing could be better than taking the so-called scientific, proven heroic path.”

Stories from England

The Daily Mail of 31 March 1995 carried an article entitled: “Cancer Deception” by Paul Eastham. Four angry members of RAGE (Radiotherapy Action Group Exposure) told the Members of Parliament’s Health Select Committee that “thousands of breast cancer victims were ‘fooled’ into having needless radiation which left them crippled and in agony.” They said doctors had assured them that radiotherapy was needed only as a precautionary measure after “their breast surgery and did not warn that their bones could crumble and they could lose the use of limbs.”

RAGE was founded by Lady Ironside who suffered paralysis of the arm after having undergone surgery and radiotherapy because of breast cancer. Her bone became brittle after radiotherapy and she suffered repeated fractures to her injured arm, collar bone and four ribs.

Lady Ironside said: “The radiographers weren’t frank with me. All of us in RAGE were told that there would be no profound side effects. We would suffer perhaps temporary nausea and exhaustion but no permanent injury ... Perhaps I was trusting and foolish. Now I suffer severe pains and paralysis. If I had been properly informed about the dangers, I would have walked away and said, “No, thank you”, and taken my chances.”

Later, Lady Ironside discovered that nearly one in five breast cancer patients irradiated at one London hospital suffered severe injuries which would steadily get worse.

The suffering of Lady Ironside is not an isolated case of radiation side effects. Many others have also suffered like her. RAGE represents 1,000 breast cancer radiation victims and is in touch with 2,000 more.

Former art historian Lorna Patch, 72, was forced to stop working after her right arm was paralysed following radiotherapy. She said: “I was never warned about the risks. I am in constant pain. The condition is quite irreversible and progressive.”

Jan Millinglon is a 55-year-old headmistress. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1982. She had a lump removed and then underwent radiotherapy. Jan Millinglon claims that the hospital distributed leaflets at the time of her treatment declaring that the side effects were short-lived. Her right arm, however, is paralysed as a result of radiotherapy.

I have related the sad but not unusual case story of Gene in Part 1 of this three-part article. What had happened to Gene is what I have been seeing happen all too often. After chemotherapy and radiotherapy the cancer spread to the bone. I have often wondered if the treatments had anything to do with the metastasis. Not much information can be obtained from the medical literature. It appears that such question is not important? Or is it a matter of “natural course of event”? I tend to think otherwise.

Read about radiotherapy in any standard textbook and it is acknowledged that radiation itself can cause cancer. In Gene’s case, it is even acknowledged that the increased uptake of tracer seen in L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae is most likely due to DXT. Medical people use medical terms that may be hard for a layperson to understand. So the information written in a medical report often goes unnoticed or not understood. DXT is medical abbreviation for deep X-ray treatment or radiotherapy and this statement above explicitly implicates the disastrous role of radiotherapy in treating Gene’s breast cancer. It has done much harm.

Are we to believe that Gene is just one rare unfortunate victim. I don’t believe that this is so.

Dr. Richard Evans (in The Cancer Breakthrough You’ve Never Heard Of) wrote: “It is my opinion that adjuvant radiation is used more often than necessary … The long-term risks of radiation therapy have not been completely determined.” John Robbins has to say in his book (Reclaiming Our Health) “Radiation is routinely recommended for cancer patients despite the fact that there is no proven benefit to survival … Although cancer specialists know that very few cancer patients are cured by radiotherapy, they continue to recommend it widely because they consider it to be a relatively harmless procedure.”

In the booklet, Radiation Therapy and You, published by the US National Cancer Institute, the following assurances are given: “Although some normal cells are affected by the radiation, most of them appear to recover more fully from the effects of radiation than the cancer cells. Doctors carefully limit the intensity of the treatment and the area being treated so that the cancer will be affected more than the normal healthy tissues. Radiation therapy is an effective way to treat many kinds of cancer in any part of the body.”

This is the official version of the “goodness” of radiotherapy. Do you believe it? Hear what other doctors have to say about radiotherapy.

John Cairns, a professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health (in Scientific American, November 1985) said: “The majority of cancers cannot be cured by radiation because the dose of X-rays required to kill the cancer cells would also kill the patient.” John Lee et. al. (in What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer) wrote: “Radiation reduces (breast cancer) death by 13.2 percent, it increases death from other causes, mostly heart disease by 21.2 percent. The obvious conclusion is: the treatment was a success but the patient died!”

Dr. Seymour Brenner, a radiologist from Brooklyn, New York, said: “After thirty-nine years, I have see no significant progress … I see millions of people dying in five years … I am tired of watching people come to my office and plead for their lives and I have nothing to offer them.

Dr. Ralph Moss (in The Cancer Industry) wrote: “Radiation therapy appears to be of limited value in the treatment of cancer. There is little controversy over the number of patients being cured by radiotherapy – it is small … Some researchers believe that the use of radiation is not only ineffective but also is possibly harmful ... It is part of a disastrous national policy that has always downplayed the hazards of radiation, while promoting its spread to every corner of the country.

Dr. Francisco Contreras, director of the Oasis of Hope Hospital described radiation as an act of desperation. In his book, Health in the 21st Century: Will Doctors Survive? he wrote: “Radiation therapy, in which we placed so much faith a few decades ago, has proven to be another medical blunder. My brother, Dr. Ernesto Contreras Jr., an oncologist and radio-therapist said, after twenty-five years of medical practice, “It is really frustrating ... The effectiveness of the treatment against cancer is doubtful. I have treated thousands of patients … and I can’t say that more than fifteen percent of them have positive response to an orthodox treatment.”